Once

Recently Phillip and I have had a run of bad luck when it comes to movies. The two most notably bad ones being "No country for old men" which was extremely violent and soul searingly evil, and "Akira" a Japanese anime that involved motorcycles, little kids with old green faces and giant milk sodden stuffed animals that chased the hero (I won't bore you with a plot analysis).

Last night the curse was broken! Phillip picked up "Once" from the video store and I cannot begin to describe how wonderful the movie was! If you can handle about 15 minutes of cussing (it is in an Irish accent which somehow doesn't sound as offensive) you will lose yoursefl in a story that is so real, so sweet and so simple it will delight you! Because it is about a musician, much of the story is told with the help of some really great songs performed by "Frames" lead singer Glen Hansen.

It's kind of an "un" love story. ... Just when I thought the romance genre was dead.

Happy Birthday Kim!

Oh the irony!! I got my Kimball piano tuned today and when the tuner looked up the serial number I found out that my piano was manufactured December 1947 so it is 60 years old this month. I guess with almost everyone else in the family born in December it makes sense that my piano would be "born" then too!!

On another note (heh, heh, heh) the piano sounds soooo much better. I've been wanting to start teaching Zak and I couldn't do that with it so out of tune. Some of the Chopin I had been playing dealt with a ton of octaves that sounded horrible. I can't wait to sit down and hear what I've been missing! I already have the beginner music lined up next to the piano (from back when I used to teach piano) and can't wait to get started. I've always said I wouldn't teach my kids until they can read and now that Zak can there are no more excuses. Wish me luck!

One of the presents I received on Christmas was a book of poetry. Imagine my surprise when I flipped through it to find a poem I wrote last year (my name was spelled wrong, but it still looked good in print!). Here it is for your enjoyment:

Second Hand Christmas tree
twinkle, twinkle little star
she sat on the curb right next to the car
like a january christmas tree
wearing garish jewelry

a left hand star atop her hand
a well worn ornamental band
a rosy lip
a frosted head
a smile -- very close to dead

drooping shoulders
sagging branches
a magnet for nostalgic glaces

shining brightly
glittering nightly
each spare pound was wrapped up tightly

worn out second hand Christmas tree
-- it looks way too much like me!

Merry Zakmus!

Zak turned 6 yesterday so we celbrate Christmas in the morning and birthday in the evening. I don't know wether to be pleased or offended that he didn't want to open any more presents at that point. Phillip made some delicious tempura shrimp and veggies along with teriaky (sp?) steak. Pictures to come ... here is a poem by A.A. Milne that just seems to fit!


The End

When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

-from Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

Happy Birthday Eliannah!!

A picture says a thousand words and this past year has been a blast. I love you Eliannah! Happy Birthday sweetie!

Nothing new ... Seriously

Is it hectic yet? Are you planning parties? Planning road trips? buying things, making things, making checklists, checking checklists? I'm not going to be "home for the holidays" ... at least not at my home. I know that there have been some moments this December of great joy ... like the day we decked the house, picked out the trees and made cookies. And days of great difficulty ... like trying to figure out how to juggle Christmas around a family member who is having heart surgery next Wednesday.

I want a Silent night! I want all to be Calm.

Tonight I threw a tantrum when my husband asked me to change what I considered our time honored family traditions. It's silly really. I bet Mary wanted to be home for Christmas. I bet she didn't want to go anywhere. I bet she didn't want to pack. I bet she wanted some peace and quiet. Many of the Christmas songs make everything sound so warm and cozy with the animals but .. animals are stinky and kind of noisy! It wasn't comfortable. It wasn't ideal. But it blessed the world. So even though Christmas won't be where I wanted or how I wanted it I'm praying that God will give me the grace to be a blessing to my family and friends.

Christmas:

Yesterday the Pastor Tim asked us to look at Christmas in a new way so I challenge you to find in the gospels

1.) a donkey
2.) 3 wisemen
3.) an innkeeper
4.) an inn

You might be surprised! (you can find the Gospel account of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2)

Christmas Cheer

Bethlehem in Babylon
tinsel in the manger
a snow man sits on a front lawn
rooftop full of reindeer
"Santa baby" on the ipod
gluttony at the table
have we forgotten all that happened
in that dirty stable?

celebrate with lavish gifts
while charities get pennies
(that's if you have any)
"the more you buy the more you save"
I'm forgetting what HE gave
getting caught in a Christmas craze
in a land of plenty


This year in Bible Study we have been studying Babylon and the culture of excess that Daniel faced with integrity. Too bad it doesn't relate to our nation today ...

Crazy -Lazy

I might as well admit it. I'm lazy. Even though I got up at 5:45 to go to the gym and watch the sunrise from the hamster wheel ... er treadmill, when it came time for breakfast I wanted to streamline the whole pancake assembly line. (Phillip had mixed up the whole wheat pancakes the night before so all I had to do was cook and serve them.) Lazy me.

Let me back up. In our family we eat peanut butter on our pancakes with syrup. Since none of the kids are old enough to cut up their own pancakes I usually cut them up into bit sized pieces with my handy dandy pair of kitchen scissors (a real time saver!). The only problem is that once the peanut butter is on the pancakes it makes a huge mess. The solution? Today I was inspired to make peanut butter syrup! I mixed a 1/2 cup peanut butter, 3/4 cup reduced sugar syrup and 1/4 cup milk, heated it up in the microwave and poured it over the pancakes. I can't tell you how much faster it was that way!! The only down side is that the syrup ends up looking like ... well ... you can imagine. Delicious though!